CURE OF MLLE. ÉLISE BOURGEOIS.
Letter of the Superior of the Daughters of Charity, in Troyes:
"Troyes, March 4th, 1842.
"In 1838, we had in our work-room a young woman, named Élise Bourgeois, aged eighteen years, who, after great suffering, was attacked by an anchylosis in the knee. For seven months and a half she suffered excruciatingly, and her malady had reached the crisis. Her limb had shrunk up about two inches, and she could not walk without the aid of a cane or some one's arm. On the 8th of April, which was Monday in Holy Week, one of our young Sisters told me that the Notice contained an account of a Christian Brother, whose foot on the point of being amputated, was cured by the sole application of the Miraculous Medal, one night when his sufferings were greater than usual. I now reproached myself for having allowed this poor child to be so long afflicted, without our once thinking of having recourse to Mary for her recovery; and ascending to the work-room, I related to the children this account of the Christian Brother, and told the young woman to arouse her faith, to put all her confidence in Mary Immaculate, to apply the medal to her knee, and commence a novena with her companions. All Tuesday night her sufferings were great indeed, she said it seemed as if all her bones were dislocated. Nor was she able to obtain a moment's repose the next day. There now issued from a little hole which had formed in her knee, a quantity of serous matter. The day following, she arose with much difficulty, and was taken to the chapel where she heard Holy Mass. At the elevation, she placed her sound knee upon the bench, saying most fervently to the good God: 'Since Thou art present, deign to cure me, that I may be entirely Thine.' She immediately felt something like the touch of a hand, which replaced the bones in their natural position, and lengthened the shrunken limb; but she did not yet dare rest upon it, for fear of injury. At the end of Mass, she knelt to receive the priest's benediction, and in spite of herself, she rested her weight upon the afflicted knee. She remained in the chapel with her companions to say her prayers and thank the Blessed Virgin for the great favor just obtained. From that time she has never suffered the slightest pain in the limb, and it appears perfectly sound.
"As soon as the children perceived that she was cured, they declared it a miracle, and all hearts were filled with the deepest emotion and gratitude. Élise now asked permission to go to the cathedral to confession; a request I granted reluctantly, although she assured me she was not suffering in the slightest, yet she had not been out for seven months and a-half, and I could scarcely realize her recovery. Several Masses of thanksgiving were said in our chapel, during the first of which we had the Blessed Sacrament exposed, and the Te Deum chanted. The noise of this miracle soon spread throughout the city, and several persons came to see the healed one. She also requested permission to go to the house of one of her uncles, who had a very impious neighbor, that had been informed of her miraculous recovery, but who had also been told that he need not believe until he had seen Élise for himself. He was perfectly convinced, acknowledged it beyond denial, and said that in thanksgiving, a Te Deum should be chanted in the cathedral.
"I forgot to say, that our physician had seen this young woman two months before her recovery and pronounced the disease incurable. I had also had her examined by a surgeon, who ordered much blistering, but without expecting a cure."
Accompanying this letter are the signatures of seven Sisters of Charity and twenty-three other individuals, witnesses of the miracle.
A TRAIT OF PROTECTION. (TEXAS).
The following was sent us by Mgr. Odin, Vicar Apostolic of Texas, in a letter dated April 11th, 1841.
"I had, in the city of Nacogdoches, an opportunity of witnessing how Mary Immaculate loves to grant the prayers of those who put their trust in her. A Maryland lady, on leaving her native State to settle in Texas, had received a Miraculous Medal; her confessor, on giving it to her, exacting the promise, that she would never omit the daily recitation of the little prayer, 'O Mary! conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!' and assuring her at the same time that this good Mother would never allow her to die without the last consolations of religion. She faithfully complied with her promise. For four years she was confined to her bed, and often, it was thought, at the point of death, but her confidence in Mary, always inspired her with the hope of receiving the last Sacraments ere leaving this world. As soon as she heard of our arrival, we were summoned to her bedside; she received the Holy Viaticum and Extreme Unction, and expired a few days after, filled with gratitude for her celestial Benefactress.